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Peter Salmon

Peter Salmon is Chief Creative Officer for Endemol Shine Group, the global producer and distributor behind MasterChef, Big Brother, Pointless, Black Mirror, Broadchurch and The Island, among many other hit shows. A highly experienced programme maker and commissioner, Peter has held numerous leadership positions in broadcasting and production in a career spanning over 30 years.

Two programme “sellers” occupied the chairs vacated moments before by “buyers” from the broadcasters and Amazon in the previous discussion. Endemol Shine’s Peter Salmon and NBCUniversal’s Jeff ­Wachtel are TV veterans. After decades in the business, one could forgive them a little world-­weariness. Yet both had clearly been energised by an industry currently in a state of ferment.

“It’s almost numbing, the pace of change and the revolutionary climate we are in right now,” said Wachtel. “There’s never been a time like this.”

“It’s only turning 18 now – I see it as having a pretty long life,” the Endemol Shine Group’s creative chief told the audience at an RTS event in early July. “Big Brother will be on in a bunch of countries and hopefully in the UK.

This debate directed a timely spotlight on the different models of running television studios in the UK and the US – the pros and cons of growing by acquisition or organically, and the issue of how to ensure studios are successful, both financially and as creative hubs.